A cement is a binder, a substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to

other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind
sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for
masonry, or with sand and gravel, produces concrete. Cement is the most widely used material
in existence and is only behind water as the planet's most-consumed resource.[1]

Cements used in construction are usually inorganic, often lime or calcium silicate based, and
can be characterized as either hydraulic or non-hydraulic, depending on the ability of the
cement to set in the presence of water (see hydraulic and non-hydraulic lime plaster).

Non-hydraulic cement does not set in wet conditions or under water. Rather, it sets as it dries
and reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. It is resistant to attack by chemicals after setting.

Hydraulic cements (e.g., Portland cement) set and become adhesive due to a chemical
reaction between the dry ingredients and water. The chemical reaction results in mineral
hydrates that are not very water-soluble and so are quite durable in water and safe from
chemical attack. This allows setting in wet conditions or under water and further protects the
hardened material from chemical attack. The chemical process for hydraulic cement was
found by ancient Romans who used volcanic ash (pozz

cement

Principal Translations

cement n (concrete)
Please don't walk on the sidewalk--the cement is still wet.

cement [sth]⇒ vtr (join with adhesive)

Use this adhesive to cement the pieces together.

cement [sth] vtr figurative (relationship: consolidate))

2600 BC
The Egyptian people already used a mortar – a mixture of sand with cement material – to join
blocks of stone and raise their prodigious constructions. Part of one of the pyramids of Giza
was raised with concrete.